RUNDOWN FOR FRIDAY 18 JULY 2025

UN / NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY (6:27)

The United Nations marked Nelson Mandela International Day with a call to carry forward the late South African leader’s commitment to justice, dignity, and peace. “Madiba’s extraordinary life was a triumph of the human spirit,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. UNIFEED

UN / COLOMBIA (4:08)

As the country enters an electoral period that could deepen political divisions, the UN Special Representative for Colombia called on all Colombians to continue working on the peace process in a spirit of cooperation. UNIFEED

UN / DRC UPDATE (2:12)

Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, told reporters in New York that “ongoing violence” in South Kivu and North Kivu provinces - in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) “continues to claim the lives of civilians and trigger new displacement,” with more than 42,500 fleeing the fighting. UNIFEED

GENEVA / UNHCR FUNDING CUTS (1:50)

Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, the Agency said. UNTV CH

GENEVA / SYRIA SUWEIDA VIOLENCE (2:41)

Amid violent clashes in southern Syria’s Suweida governorate, a picture of grave human rights abuses and rising humanitarian needs is emerging by the hour, the UN said. UNTV CH

OHCHR / SYRIA SUWEIDA VIOLENCE - ARABIC (2:41)

“Syria’s interim authorities must ensure accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the city of Suweida,” UN human rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said. OHCHR

OHCHR / SYRIA SUWEIDA VIOLENCE SHAMDASANI (2:26)

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called for accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the southern city of Suweida. OHCHR / UNTV CH

OHCHR / BANGLADESH NEW MISSION (1:13)

The Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office’s opening of a new mission in Bangladesh “to support the promotion and protection of human rights” in the country. UNIFEED

OHCHR / RETURNS OF AFGHANS (2:10)

“The surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said. OHCHR / UNTV CH